Loeke Looks to Luke

NEW Argyle goalkeeper Robbert te Loeke’s move to England is a also move to dreamland.

The 28-year-old Dutchman has joined the Pilgrims after stints in Germany and his native Netherlands and he said: “It feels great. It was a dream to play in England and today it happened.”

Robbert is eager to get to work with the Pilgrims when pre-season training begins on Thursday and linking up with club captain Luke McCormick.

“I am really looking forward, because I think it makes you better,” he said. “It makes him better, it makes me better. There will always be competition, but that’s football.

“It is really important. You have to work together and train every day as hard as you can. You need a good feeling as a goalkeeper so you always have to work together. For me, that’s no problem.”

Although Robbert has not played in England before, he knows Argyle manager Derek Adams from a summer trial with Ross County in 2013, when he experienced the gaffer’s legendarily tough training schedules.

“I know them because I already trained with them,” he said. “I love to train hard. When we played in Germany, we also trained hard. I’m looking forward to it.”

He has also faced Argyle before, after he returned to Holland from a stint with German side Werder Bremen, who he joined as a teenager.

“In my first year, when I played for Cambuur, we played in the pre-season,” he said. “I played four years for Cambuur in the [second tier] Jupiler League; it is an amazing club; big fans; a good atmosphere; it was really nice.

“After Cambuur, I went to Veendam; unfortunately they went bankrupt, which was not such a good year for the club and for me.

“Then I moved on to FC Dordrecht. In the first year, I played a few matches; we finished second in the league and got up to the highest division in Holland, the Eredivisie. I played three years for them, some Eredivisie games. It was a really nice club; a small club but some really nice fans.

“Last year, I played for Achilles in the Jupiler League. Unfortunately, we went down to the third league but it was good for me – I played all the games and did a good job.